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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 12, 2023 21:17:31 GMT -5
When Gerhart heard there was a survey corps he thought this would be perfect for him. A lot of his skills made him a natural scout and good at tracking things. He was admittedly a little disappointed to see it was more of a thinky job that required him to find locations for stuff. Still, it could be worse. This was a vital job to be doing and the camp definitely needed better defenses. He'd already seen what they are up against with Astrid and just how crafty they can be after the attack with Taki. Whatever this king troll guy was up to wasn't good, so they needed every option available. That said, tactical thinking was not a skill he had. Thankfully, he lucked into finding Zarius at camp. The fellblood was one of the adventurer's best friends and biggest rival. Zarius was also probably one of the smartest people he knew....after Cirice....and Kamille...Cyran seems pretty wise....Thoman is a talking dog which seems way smart....Zarius was top 10 at least. "So, setting up some stuff huh? I mean....we are in the middle of the Arid Mesa, doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of....tacticality to be found anywhere ya know? That patch of sand is exactly the same as that patch." Quest Name: From the east they came Participants: Exactly two (you and one other, the other does not need to be interested in the guild) Location: Indicated by Hunt Dossier Post Requirements: 5 post per person, 200 words per post Reward: Quest Completion Description: You will be accompanied by a member of the Survey Corps who will assist in the studying and recording of an area while you assist in clearing out the area of any debris and choosing suitable locations for artillery, such as ballista, catapults, or trebuchet. You will assist in setting up these devices and even test firing them, marking range, force of impact and other vital information. The locations of these devices and the information gathered will be crucial in assisting the guild with the hunt to come. So, lend whatever help you can in establishing an advantageous battlefield.
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 13, 2023 10:05:46 GMT -5
Did everyone join this guild?
Running into Gerhart after being asked to help out by Astrid and then assisting Wolfe with fighting some of the nightcallers was just too much of a coincidence. Sure the guild had made a big flashy return and push for new recruits, but it was still all a little suspicious.
Course the only way to find out if there is anything untoward going on was to get closer to those calling the shots and observe their movements. Easier said than done. The guild leader may be more present than the Fighter's Guild missing leader, but the charismatic bastard was still flighty as all hell. By the time the fellblood had managed to track him down, he got slapped with another task to assist with when Gerhart spotted him.
Zarius would have to admit, it was near impossible to turn down a request from the young man. The fellblood didn't want to raise any suspicions about his own motives for joining the guild, so he agreed to help with scouting the surrounding area to find any holes in their current defenses and then setting up equipment to fill said holes.
It's probably a good thing that Zarius isn't a mind reader or he might be a smidge offended that Gerhart only considered him in the top 10 of smartest people the younger adventurer knew. Though how much of a compliment that was would depend on how many people in general Gerhart knew, which potentially could be much more than just ten. Given how friendly and social the fighter was, it would be shocking if it wasn't a few dozen.
"We are dealing with heavy siege artillery, so we have to consider the stability of the ground under the patches of sand, wind direction, distances to any cover, ensuring that there are no gaps in the range of the defenses as well as making sure the defenses are defensible. Open areas like this have their own challenges compared to a fort on a defensible slope."
Zarius decides to take this opportunity to maybe teach Gerhart a thing or two about pre-emptive tactical planning. It was also just nice to have a new challenge to work with. It wasn't often he got to fiddle around with resources not his own in an area he is not particularly familiar with. A small part of him was actually looking forward to this.
That was until they were assigned a member of the Survey Corps who would actually do all the theoretical strategizing while they were relegated to clean up duty.
The fellblood's enthusiasm is immediately squashed and he resists taking out his frustration on their new companion, a particularly mousy and meek looking gnome with round glasses perched on the end of her nose.
"We'll start over here, just clear out that brush to start." She gestures with her quill towards some nearly dead brambles all twisted and tangled around one another before scratching away at her notebook.
Zarius looks at Gerhart. He wanted to comment that this was a waste of both their skills but he thinks better of it and just shrugs dismissively and heads over to start trying to remove the spikey bushes.
Given the mindless nature of the task they were assigned, Zarius starts up idle chit chat. "So, how have you been as of late?"
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 14, 2023 21:29:01 GMT -5
Gerhart had actually put no thought into how suddenly this guild came together. To some it might seem like a pretty big operation to spin up this quickly and strangely well-timed given the nature of the world, but those suspicions could float in someone else's head. In Gerhart's there is a vast and calm void.
He raises an eyebrow to the gnome as she seems to apparate out of no where. He had entirely forgotten they had a chaperone with them for this trip. The demand to do manual labor didn't strike him as odd as he grabbed a few gardening tools to start work.
"Normally, I'd say this could make some decent camoflauge, but uh....I don't think we have enough to cover a whole catapult." The ranger grins as he kneels down to start removing these things at the root. "Try and keep the root system as in tact as ya can. Probably some folks in the Mage's Guild who can help replant these."
He would also seem much more at home having something to do, especially if it was something to do with his hands.
"Define as of late~ All the travel makes it hard to keep track when I last saw or wrote to anyone....not that I write that often. Cirice is helping with that, but I don't know...I'd rather just talk in person, ya know?"
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 17, 2023 19:57:19 GMT -5
Zarius was just going to yank the plants roughly out of the ground until he spots Gerhart putting in the effort to protect and maintain their root structure. He's a smidge bit annoyed as this only makes the task even more tedious than it already was but given all control over the situation had been snatched from him by the gnome he decides to just bite his tongue and deal with it.
"Fine."
He kneels down and assists the young fighter in carefully digging up the plants and moving them aside until they can be replanted.
"I mean since we last worked together," he explains.
It is somewhat interesting that Gerhart has seemingly spent so much time with Cirice yet Zarius has never seen her with him. Then again, he hasn't exactly seen the young moon elf since first meeting her in the Crescent Isles. He has heard that she dropped by the Rookery at least once but he was elsewhere at the time. Seems they just kept missing one another, not that he feels any need to keep a particularly close eye on her. She's a grown adult and can figure things out herself. Perhaps traveling would help curb some of her naivety and obsession with prophetic deities that are likely dead given what Scern claimed.
Zarius nods along with Gerhart's sentiment. "I can understand that, letters can be limiting."
"Hurry, hurry! we need to get things cleared right away!" The gnome interrupts.
The fellblood nearly shoots the woman a very annoyed look, but he manages to reduce it to just reasonably annoyed. The W.E.F. sure had a lot of staff that were totally comfortable with taking advantage of new recruits, many of which could probably kick their asses in a fight easily.
As much as being part of the Fighter's Guild right now was complicated, the vibes of that guild were leaps and bounds more inviting and less pretentious than the Expeditionary Force. Perhaps that was in part due to Shaa's temporary leadership. That minotaur didn't have a pretentious bone in his body, even when he was trying to be fancy at the Marrowvine's ball.
"Do you mind if I ask why you joined the Force? Seems like every time I turn around another person I know has thrown their hat in with this group."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 17, 2023 20:23:58 GMT -5
"Plants do a lot of the soil of an area and are a pretty good found source for animals, that's why you gotta be careful." He could sense a bit of Zarius displeasure, the fellblood was a man of efficency and purpose. Gerhart imagined he always had lots of plates spinning at a given time, so tedious stuff like this probably did seem lik a bother. Maybe if there was at least a sensible reasone it would lesson the annoyance.
"If you want it done faster, then put down the clipboard and help." Gerhart called back to the gnome with a little laugh.
"I've been fine I guess though, lots going on everywhere that there isn't much time to stop and think you know?....It's tough though...I guess I didn't realize how many people are looking to me now." He gives a sheepish smile. The burgeoning reputation of Gerhart would not have gone unnoticed to Zarius most likely. It was strange how in so seemingly short a time he went from another orphan in Moonglade to one of its go-to defenders.
He stands with a sigh and sets the bundle of plants aside to take care of later and brushes the dust of his hands. The gnome gives a annoyed huff for being made to wait and starts calling for the first of the seige weapons to be wheeled over and set into place. It gives the two a moment to step back and rest as Gerhart fishes out a waterskin, raising an eyebrow at Zarius' question.
"I suppose part of it is I like monster hunting....I know a lot about monsters and fighting them after what happened to my parents...or at least I learned since then....I like the Fighter's Guild, I like doing jobs around Charon to help people, but taking out bigger things like this Night King Troll whatever its called...that feels like what I am best at, ya know? Might as well, since you know I'm too stupid to die." He grins widely at the fellblood.
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 19, 2023 19:53:09 GMT -5
Being lectured about the importance of respecting nature and plantlife was not particularly welcomed by the fellblood. Even if it was coming from a friend with good intentions. Zarius is just annoyed and feels like the W.E.F. has been taking the piss with how they have treated their new recruits and allies from other guilds. He's worked way too hard to garner respect across Charon to be relegated to picking fucking weeds when his skills could be put to better elsewhere.
Still, he puts a lid on his ego and pride at least to save face around Gerhart. The young fighter didn't need to see him being a spoiler man-child throwing a tantrum out of frustration.
He works with Gerhart to carefully remove the plants and he just ignores any comments from the gnome.
"You have earned it. Your growth has been astounding to witness and you should be very proud of what you have accomplished."
It is remarkable. Zarius thinks about the first time he met Gerhart in that back alley and how he easily could have ended the young fighter's whole journey right then and there. Seeing Gerhart mature and make a name for himself as well as grow into a capable fighter has been well worth it.
Though he played little part in Gerhart's journey, he can't help but feel some senses of pride towards the young fighter, similar to Astrid who he also has watched grow from very humble beginnings.
Kids these days. Their drive rivals his own, and some days it feels like they've even outpaced him. He's too young to feel like he's being left behind.
As they rest, he leans back and uses his tail to prop himself up as he tucks his hands into his pockets. He listens to Gerhart's explanation of why he joined the guild.
"Keep proving that," he says a bit somberly while watching the siege weaponry be set up. "Last thing I want to ever receive in the mail is an invitation to your funeral."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 20, 2023 18:26:10 GMT -5
There was something to be said about Gerhart's likeability and affability that people didn't bother to call him out when he's annoying them. There's a helpful charm to his dumb little face, if he knew how to weaponize that he could be a dangerous politician. Thankfully, he has no interest in that.
He stretches a bit as they take the break, watching the weaponry get set up. In his mind, this seemed like....a lot for one beast. Is this the caliber of monster the WEF is going for? The kind that can level cities? If they were just hunting a singular beast, then this seemed like just announcing where they were and letting go of any element of actual hunting.
His train of thought his taken off-track as Zarius speaks again, the same dumb grin crossing his face, "I am pretty sure if I were to die right now, Rice would convince Mother Moon to bring me back or something...Astrid might find away to punch me back alive.....Heck her and Shaa might." He chuckles at the menagrie of friends they had between them.
"What about you? I know ya can fight big stuff, I still remember the spire viper at the academy, but monster hunting doesn't seem your thing." Gerhart shades his eyes just to take a quick look at the horizon and spy for Halcyon. The giant kestrel was happy to hunt and soar freely in the open sky of the mesa.
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 22, 2023 19:18:23 GMT -5
"It is not. I am here mainly because Miss Astrid asked me to provide aid as a member of the Fighter's Guild. I would much prefer to be anywhere else but here, few of my own goals have anything to do with the Arid Mesa."
He's not opposed to admitting that he really does not care much about these trolls or the threat they pose. There were plenty of powerful adventurers in Charon who could handle such a creature. His skills were better suited to less direct conflicts and subterfuge.
Really, the only other reason he could say he was here for was to get close to the guild leader. The man was popular and seemed to have the Crown's favor. Having an ally like that never hurt especially since the Sultan of Zeinav was on less than friendly terms with the fellblood.
"With any luck I will not have to actually fight at all. I am confident all those involved have things more than under control."
He glances up at the bird circling overhead.
"You know, I have recruited a new ally you might actually get along with. She is a drake rider from the Dvoryanin tribes. She has a bad attitude but perhaps some of your positivity would rub off on her."
Then again, perhaps her sass would rub off on Gerhart and make him even more bold to poke and prod at the fellblood. Gods know she has already taken to teasing him relentlessly while Caedes is around to participate.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 22, 2023 20:25:44 GMT -5
"The way you talk about 'my own goals' makes it sound like you wanna take over the world." Gerhart laughs. "If you do, you have my support, not that overlords really need it." He stretches his arms and back again as the gnome calls for more hands to do work.
Gerhart is boundless energy and moves to get back to it, purposefully taking on more work to give Zarius less to do. Less grumbling if Gerhart just does the work. He glances back up to Hal as well.
"Drake rider huh? I thought about that, but I don't know...Hal's feathers are just soft...makes for great bedding....and feathers fall out a lot easier than scales......I do have a skill at that huh?" He grins with a bundle of freshly pulled greens.
"My sister would say my mouth is gonna get me killed before my sword does....which is probably true. I've been lucky enough to not be asked to the White Walled Castle too often. Ginma knows I'd stumble into somehow offending someone because I don't compliment on the specific kind of ruffle in their dress or something like that. Dad was right to not perform for courts."
Little did he know his adoptive father did, just before Gerhart's time and for much less....appealing reasons.
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 24, 2023 16:46:41 GMT -5
He scoffs. "I am not interested in ruling the world. That is far too much responsibility and I already have enough to deal with as it is."
The fellblood follows after the young fighter as they are called back to work. "I appreciate your vote of support regardless."
They go back to pulling up more vegetation and begrudgingly Zarius takes care to not damage the plant life. Gerhart's eagerness to take on more work does not go unnoticed by the fellblood. Though he does not draw any attention to it and just lets him do what he wants.
Zarius rests an elbow on his knee as he digs the dirt out from around another bush's roots. "You have many skills. I think it takes a lot of strength to go through what you have gone through and not be jaded or vexed by the world and all it has thrown at you."
He glances at Gerhart as he mentions his father. The young fighter was more forthright with mentioning his family but despite the little tidbits of information, there was a lot of the whole story that Zarius did not have. He tries to not pry seeing is it could be a fairly touchy subject. Family more often than not was for many of those the fellblood associates with.
"Those who were born into their privilege rather than those who have earned it often are easily offended. That sense of entitlement is rather pretentious and can be annoying to have to deal with."
There have been plenty of people who fall to their own hubris, especially within the spheres of political and societal influence. Being born into nobility is the luck of the draw, and unfortunately, there are people who do not see it that way and believe they have earned their lavish lifestyles rather than being gifted it by others. And should anyone criticize them and point out their flaws, their fragile egos start to crumble around them because their confidence was never built on the payoffs of their own actions to begin with.
That was not to say that the rich deserve sympathy, or should be treated as victims of their circumstances. Those who squander their positions of power and privilege are not above being scrutinized.
Zarius dusts his hands off after placing another plant to the side. "Even if you feel out of place amongst the noble class, I think it is important for your voice to be heard. You have experience and insights that many do not."
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jun 27, 2023 19:28:13 GMT -5
"Strength or stubborness depending on who you ask." He laughs, wiping his face and smearing mud across a cheek with little care. "Dad always talked about how no one ever made room for him, so he made room for himself. You'd like him, smooth talking fellblood who likes people to think he's tough, but he's just a big softie. Practically the same person."
Another wide grin and laugh as he adds the brush to the pile. It seemed the work here was progressing along nicely....each work station seemed to go smoother when the halfling wasn't around barking orders, but not much to be done about that at the moment.
"Being heard and being listened too are different....Maybe I am a little jaded in thinking those types aren't going to listen to me, so why bother with them ya know? I can do most things on my own...the basics anyways, got a house, food and clothes." He shrugs. "They don't think about us, so why think about them?"
"But that's enough of me talking, we know I do enough of that. How's The Rookery? I heard Darkveil got caught up in whatever is going on since the whole Sol Stone business."
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jun 30, 2023 12:20:33 GMT -5
"You think I am a 'softie'."
It's a statement rather than a question. That was definitely not the result he was going for. Zarius had tried his best to appear approachable and trustworthy, but did he really come off as being a 'softie'? What did that even mean? He was hardly a push over and he wasn't that open to people about his personal life. He certainly wasn't the type to be publicly affectionate.
He shakes his head and scoffs in disbelief. Whatever, if it ultimately gets the job done then who is he to complain.
Speaking of job, it looked like their current task was likely going to wrap up soon. Zarius dusts his hands off on his pant legs.
"Well, for what it is worth, I see the value in listening to you."
At the mention of the Rookery, Zarius lets out a long exasperated sigh. "Not good. We were hit pretty hard by one of the recent earthquakes. That old clock tower hardly stood a chance. It will be some time before we can even start rebuilding."
He wouldn't ever admit that it actually really upset him what happened. It's been difficult for him to even build up the motivation to partake in the clean up. That old building held a lot of sentimental value for the fellblood since he and his sister had snuck into it so often as pesky children. Losing it in the earthquake was hard, and having to relocate everyone else after its collapse had been a stressful operation.
It was just one thing after another these days, and he was starting to feel the fatigue settling in deep in his bones.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jul 1, 2023 21:35:19 GMT -5
"You didn't kill me the first time we met, didn't let me get eaten by the spire viper eather." He grinned, not exactly affectionate moves and surely Zarius had his own reasons not that Gerhart would ever suss them out.
Though his reaction does make Gerhart curious...what is the man like when he's not working? Is Zarius ever not "working?" Like....does the fellblood ever take a vacation? Go to the beach with someone or something.....Can fellbloods tan? Or are they like immune to sunburn cause demons?
He's halfway through teasing out these questions when Zarius hits him with the news of The Rookery. The ranger rubs the back of his neck, feeling the heat himself.
"That's hard, I imagine...I heard a bit about some of the areas that got hit. I was in Sol City when some weird chasm opened up, thankful Hal was there and some others to save who we could. Whenever you are ready let me know, I'm not great at it, but I know a little bit about a lot of repair work. Had to do a lot of odd jobs before I took up adventuring." There's a little pause as he lets out a breath. "You think this expeditionary force has anything to do with everything going on? Like....I want to think I'm doing good, but what if this whole thing is just making the monsters and exploiting people? That's too crazy, right?"
It wasn't often, but sometimes Gerhart had to be honest and at least consider when he's being taken advantage of.
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Post by Eameia (Zarius unavailable) on Jul 3, 2023 11:35:17 GMT -5
"True."
Zarius very well could have ended Gerhart's whole adventuring career during those early encounters if he had been given a good reason to. Good thing the young fighter was more annoyingly endearing rather than annoyingly infuriating.
Gerhart's question about the guild maybe having something to do with all the recent monster appearances is surprising. That kind of skepticism was not something he was used to seeing from the young fighter. Perhaps the world was starting to wear on that boundless optimism after all.
“That is difficult to say. All the guilds, even the Fighter’s Guild, are under the thumb of the monarchy. Creating panic and then having the guilds valiantly band together to stop the threat sure would be a good distraction from the whole revelation about the gods.”
It was plausible, though if there was any proof of that it certainly would be well guarded. He could look into it more now that he was in the guild, but he'd have to be pretty careful not to arouse any suspicion. Things were complicated enough with the Sultan back in Zeinav, he really didn't need to get on the King's bad side too.
He sighs, “a monarchy is only as powerful as its hold over its people. I am certain the Crown has been feeling a lot of pressure with the whole royal bloodline and their claims of being connected to divinity being called into question.”
Though they were doing a great job keeping dissent down within the urban centers where they could better control what information made it out to the public. It was the vulnerable rural areas where their control was slipping.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jul 4, 2023 23:09:53 GMT -5
...."Cirice has been helping me learn to read, but you know....sometimes being stupid helps, cause all of that stuff sounds troubling, but I don't get it so I don't worry about it." He grinned, always that same dumb and boyish grin.
"I've tried a few times to piece together the Sol Stone business....it just seems kind of...I don't know. Over my head? I never really prayed to any god, Dad said he'd rather piss on them than pray to them." Gerhart pauses as he puts his hands on his hips to stretch.
"I don't know, I guess I just ask cause I'm gettin' a little better about not just takin' everything I'm told for the truth." He said, not acknowledging that he still had pretty big blinders on for most things.
"As for the politics of it all, I think I've had my fill of that already. So unless you or someone finds out this whole thing is junk, I'll just fight the monsters, conspiracy or not they are still a threat, yeah?"
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